Of Frogs and True Love
by etoile4
Summary: BuffySpike. During As You Were. Buffy breaks up with Spike before Riley and Sam leave. The actual “doctor” was the Troika. They strike back at the Scoobies after Buffy blew up the eggs.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Of Frogs and True Love

Rated: PG-13

Author: Etoile

Summary- Buffy/Spike. During As You Were. Buffy breaks up with Spike before Riley and Sam leave. The actual "doctor" was the Troika. They strike back at the Scoobies after Buffy blew up the eggs.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sunnydale or anyone that lives there. They all belong to Joss Whedon.

**Chapter One**

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Jonathan turned to the source of the voice and cringed. These were the times he didn't really enjoy the whole arch nemesis…es business. Jonathan once again asked himself why he was sitting there in Warren's basement. Was this really a choice he made? It seemed so long ago. Was he angrier then? More lonely? Confused? No, he was confused now. He didn't know what he was doing trying to take over the world, starting with Sunnydale. Warren was a dictator and Andrew was annoying. How was he to know what he was getting into? Jonathan braved a potential storm and asked, "What's wrong?"

"What kinds of minions are you? Weren't you watching the video feeds?" Warren shouted.

Andrew looked slightly miffed, his blonde hair sticking up in tufts from lying on the couch. He stretched his limbs and crossed his arms. "We're not minions, we're the Troika. That means we all have 33.3333333…" he trailed off at Warren's glare. "Anyway, we have equal power."

Warren moved into Andrew's space and jabbed the blonde's chest with his finger. "_We_ don't have equal power if _we_ don't do equal work, _alright_?" Andrew fell back into the couch on the power of the last jab. Warren began to pace back and forth in the basement lair. "I'm the one that thinks up all the ideas. I'm the one that makes all the equipment. You two just sit around and eat _my _food and watch _my _TV!"

Andrew, sulking on the couch and rubbing his chest, muttered, "It's your mom's food and tv…"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Warren bellowed.

"It's not like they're great ideas anyway."

Warren swiftly turned around to face Jonathan. "You want to say that again?" he asked dangerously.

Jonathan held up his hands. "I'm not trying to rag on you, man. But you're obviously pissed because one of your plans blew up in your face again."

"Literally blew up, you ass! And you would know that if you were watching the monitors. The fucking slayer found the Suvolte eggs. Now we have no money! Your little brains can figure out what that means, right?" Warren sighed and took a seat on his recliner. "You know what? You think my plans are so shitty? It's your turn. You guys think up something. I'm gonna watch Enterprise."

With that, he switched on the TV.

---

It was a full store and it was driving Buffy Summers crazy. Were Sam and Riley ever going to leave? Or did they just want to rub their cutesy married life in her face? In her secretly newly single face? Luckily, everyone was in the back checking out the new features of the training room. Buffy was left alone to think about what transpired earlier that afternoon. She never would have imagined that "breaking up" with Spike would be as hard as it was turning out to be. All she could see was his face. She couldn't remember ever wanting to cry because of something Spike felt. And she knew how he felt. Did she ever. But it couldn't be helped. They couldn't go on the way they were. Not while she was the Slayer and he was a vampire. And that wasn't ever going to change. Anyway, it was only sex wasn't it? Wasn't it?

"Wasn't it what?"

Buffy was jarred from her inner conversation, which obviously was so inner after all, to face Sam Finn. Buffy had to hold herself back from glaring at her. "Nothing," she said lightly. "Just thinking to myself is all."

"About what?" Sam asked.

This time Buffy couldn't help but glare a little. Why was she so nosy? "Just this and that," Buffy bit out.

Sam shook her head in an apologetic manner. "Sorry to pry. You just seemed upset about something. Then you started muttering 'wasn't it?' I just wanted to help…"

Buffy could feel herself turning pink. What was she doing acting odd in front of Riley's wife? Now they probably had all sorts of stories to exchange about the peculiar ex-girlfriend from college.

Sam was still talking. "…I do have a Masters in psychology if there's anything you'd—"

"Not thanks," Buffy interrupted shortly. "Just a little stress is all."

There was an uncomfortable silence for several seconds until thankfully Tara came back in from the training room. Buffy was able to retreat to her thoughts once more while Tara and Sam talked quietly. She was interrupted yet again by a bang at the front door of the shop. But when Buffy looked up, she saw nothing. She turned to the other two at the table. They looked confused too.

Anya came in from the back, "Welcome to the Magic Shop, how—uh?"

Suddenly there was a cloud of smoke. Buffy sprang to her feet. A loud ominous voice began chanting in Latin. Buffy went toward the voice and felt like she was falling. An instant later, there was another loud bang. Buffy tried moving toward the door but she was impeded by something. Something was holding her back… She tried to get her feet free but she couldn't. The smoke was beginning to clear and Buffy found herself face to the floor. '_What the hell?_' She was laying on the ground with a massive cloth draped over her. She wondered if the others were in a similar condition. She called out, "Tara? Anya? Sam?" What came out was a loud "rrrribbbitt!"

There were answering ribbits around her and Buffy was surprised that she could understand them. "What's happening?" "Where are you?" "My money!"

A mini stampede could be heard coming from the general location of the training room.

"What's going on?" Xander's voice. "Anya? Ahn?"

"Sam?" Riley. "These are her clothes. What's going on in here?"

Buffy felt the cloth around her moving. "Oh! Ewww! A frog!" Dawn's voice shrieked.

"Here's another frog!" Willow said from the other side of the room. "Oh! And another!"

Xander groaned. "Oh no! Here's another one. Four frogs, four missing women, and four pile of clothing. You don't suppose they're all out there naked somewhere, do you?" The frog by the counter began ribbiting in earnest. Xander leaned down and looked over it. "Ahn? Is that you in there?" There was another ribbit. Xander looked up at the remaining humans. "I'm gonna take that as a yes."

"Who turned them into frogs?" Dawn asked. "And why did it have to be frogs, anyway. Frogs are major gross!"

Willow picked up the frog sitting on Tara's skirt and stroked its skin. "Frogs aren't so bad, Dawnie. Feel her skin. It's kinda soft."

Dawn made another sound that sounded like 'eww!' "That's 'cause it's slimy. I mean, you can't really want her to stay a frog."

Willow sighed. "No. We've got to get to the bottom of this." She paused to listen to all the ribbiting going around her. "But I don't know how to start. I'm not all that fluent in Frogese."

At this Riley spoke up. "Can't you just do a spell to translate their croaks?"

"Um…well…not really."

Riley made a 'huh?' face.

"I'm kinda off magic right now… Sorry." Willow ended awkwardly.

"Well," Xander paused. "I'm sure everyone would understand."

Willow shrugged. "Maybe. I just don't think I'm ready for it yet. I want to help but I don't know how I can."

Dawn rubbed her back. "It's okay, Willow. You don't have to if you're not ready."

"Wait! What's this? Why's Willow off magic?" Riley asked, completely confused with the conversation.

"It's a long story," Willow said. "And we don't have time to tell it. We need to get to the bottom of the frogs. Whoever did this might be planning something bigger. It's just the question of who."

"Who? Well we can narrow it down to the whole demon population of Sunnydale." Riley said.

"Not all demons are bad," Dawn said. "Spike's friend Clem wouldn't hurt anyone. Well, maybe kitties. But not people."

Riley looked about ready to say something at the mention of Spike's name but managed to keep it to himself.

Xander got the look that meant 'eureka!' and rubbed his hands together. "Okay demon population minus Clem. But we also have to add our three human "supervillians" to that list."

"Oh! Of course, those little twerps would do this." Willow said. "It's just lame enough to be them."

"What supervillians are these?" Riley asked.

"Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew."

"Warren with the robots and Jonathan of the alternate universe?" Riley asked and they nodded. "Who's Andrew?"

"Tucker's brother." Xander and Willow replied.

Riley shrugged. "They don't seem very supervillainy to me."

"They're not. But they are very annoying. Case in point," Willow said glancing at the frogs around the room.

Xander nodded. "I wish I could read their minds so that I can be out of town when they think up their stupid ideas."

Willow got her own 'eureka!' face. "Read their minds! I can read their minds!"

"You can?"

"No! I mean, yes! I mean, not the dorks' minds. But the frogs! Or," Willow gave pause. "At least I think I can."

"What do you mean by that?" Riley said, by now stroking his Sam-frog.

"Over the summer, when Buffy was…gone, we used to patrol together. And I connected myself to everyone's minds so that I could warn them if something was coming. It's not really magic. Or if it is, it's not anymore since it was already cast." Willow began to walk to the bookshelf. "It should just be a matter of concentration to get myself on that mindlength again." She began flipping through a small book she picked from the stacks.

"Uh, whatcha got there Wills?" Xander asked, moving closer.

Willow looked up. "Oh! Just a meditation book. No worry."

"I wasn't worrying." She rolled her eyes at him "Not much anyway," he amended.

"I never connected myself to Buffy or Sam. And I don't know if I did to Anya since she was in the shop most of the summer. But I know I did to Tara. Aha!" Willow put the book down and went to the front counter. "Quartz, quartz, where are you? There you are!" Willow held the crystal in her hand. "I haven't done this in a while so I'll probably need some quiet."

The rest nodded and Willow sat on the floor, Indian style. She began breathing deeply until her breaths came in slow even beats. Her mind reached out to find Tara's. She reached…and reached… _Willow?_ She jerked.

_Tara, hon?_ She asked.

_Willow, thank goddess. _Came the reply from Tara.

Willow felt relieved. _We'll get to the bottom of this. Hold on a sec._ She turned to Xander, Dawn, and Riley. "I got her," she said excitedly. She spoke to Tara again, _What_ _happened before you became frogs?_

_I'm not sure really. There was some Latin. It was a spell. But we couldn't see the caster._ Tara replied.

Willow grabbed a pen and paper. _What did they say?_

_Uh…there was the word 'rana'…_Tara paused as Anya ribbited over on the counter. _Anya_ _says that means frog. So that's one part. There were also the words 'fidus' and 'verus'. Um…faithful and true._

Willow scribbled the words down. "Anything else?" She said aloud. _Sorry, anything else?_

_I can hear you when you talk out loud. But I, I don't remember much else. Wait. _The frog in Riley's hands began croaking. _Sam said she remembered amor. Oh yeah! It said a lot about love! Right after all the faithful stuff…And Anya said there was something on mating?_

"Okay," Willow said to the whole room. "Here's what I've got: frog, faithful, true, love, and mating. That's what the, whoever it was, said to cast the spell."

"Well," Xander began. "The frog part is the end result."

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious."

"No problem"

"What if?" Dawn asked and stopped. Everyone looked at her expectedly. "Well, what if it wasn't a spell? But a curse?"

"Sort of the same thing Dawnie," said Willow.

"I mean, well, yeah. I guess they're the same. It's just, we've had to read Grimm's fairytales for the past week in Lit and it just sounds like one of those curses, you know? The prince into the beast or frog or whatever."

Willow's face lit up. "Dawnie, you're a genius!"

"I am?" Dawn looked confused. "I mean, I am."

"Yes! A genius! The words: faithful, true, love. I don't know about the mating thing though—" There was some ribbiting to her left.

Tara spoke to her. _The word was 'juntus', Anya thinks. She says it could just mean to join or unite._

_Hmm, that works better. Hey ask Anya if she remembers anything about kissing. Something like basium or basiatio._

Willow waited through the croaking until Tara returned to her. _Yeah, not entirely sure because everything happened so fast, but it sounds familiar._

_Well, I hope it is._ Willow said. "Okay guys. This definitely has to be the work of the three nerds because only they would think up something this dumb."

"What is it?" Riley asked, a little impatiently.

"I think it might be that curse Dawn was talking about."

Dawn looked mighty proud of herself. But Xander still looked confused. "Score one for the Dawnster, but what you're saying is that the nerds turned the girls into frogs like the guy in Beauty and the Beast?"

Willow shook her head. "He was turned into a Beast. Hence the name, Xand. Anyway, I think he just needed her to say she loved him. No, I think this one is more The Enchanted Frog. A kiss from his true love turns the frog into a prince."

"Or wakes the princess up from a deep sleep?" Xander observed.

"Okay, fairy tales are a little repetitive. I still think this was the idea," said Willow. "So," she said brightly. "Who wants to kiss a frog?"


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Of Frogs and True Love

Rated: PG-13

Author: Etoile

Email- Buffy/Spike. During As You Were. Buffy breaks up with Spike before Riley and Sam leave. The actual "doctor" was the Troika. They strike back at the Scoobies after Buffy blew up the eggs. Please review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sunnydale or anyone that lives there. They all belong to Joss Whedon.

**Chapter Two**

Spike walked through downtown Sunnydale with a jauntiness he didn't feel. There wasn't necessarily anyone to fool on the streets; nobody he knew anyway. But he'd learned from too many years that you had to keep it up so it looked natural. He wanted to look like he didn't care at all once he stepped into that Magic Shop and saw the Slayer. He wanted to be the epitome of nonchalant. He didn't want to look like the Slayer had pulled his heart out of his chest, stomped on it, and left it bleeding on the crypt floor. Spike's steps faltered as the thoughts went through his head. Yeah, practice made perfect.

The Magic Shop came into view. His pace slowed a little bit. Spike wondered if he wasn't a masochist. Well, yeah, vampire, sure. But he left his crypt the moment he sensed the sun had set. And it wasn't toward Willy's to get blistering drunk. It was toward Buffy. It was toward the source of all his recent pain. And that was a choice he consciously made. He wondered if he wasn't a masochist.

He pushed through the doors of the Shop anyway, hoping to make a big impression. But the Slayer was no where to be seen. The ones that were in the room didn't pay him any mind. They were paying attention to soldier boy…who was holding a…frog. Was he about to kiss it?

"Bugger me! What have I stumbled upon here?"

Four pairs of eyes comically turned on him. And, unless he was going crazy, so did four pairs of frog eyes. "Hey Spike!" Dawn waved.

"Hey Bit," Spike replied. "What's all this?"

Dawn began pointing at the frogs as she spoke, "Buffy, Tara, Sam, and Anya."

"They're got turned into frogs?" asked Spike. It was probably the witch; off the bloody wagon. His eyes remained on the frog Dawn had pointed to first. "Buffy…" He said quietly. He saw the frog twitch and look away. Spike stiffened. Oh yeah, that was her alright. He focused on Dawn before he gave anything away. "So how's the mighty scoobie gang fixing this one?" He asked, sarcastically.

"Well, it was Willow's idea but it was my mini-thought. They're gonna kiss the frogs!"

"Wait, this wasn't Red's fault?"

Willow looked offended. "No, Spike, it wasn't. You have no right to assume stuff. We don't assume every bad thing that happens is _your_ fault."

Spike raised an eyebrow as his response.

"I said _every_ bad thing," Willow sniffled.

Dawn crossed her arms. "We don't have time for fights. Let's just get this kissing thing on the road. Riley?"

Riley finally stopped shooting daggers at Spike. It wasn't really working anyway since Spike was doing an admirable job of ignoring his existence. "Alright, here goes." Riley pursed his lips and leaned toward Sam-frog. Somewhere behind him, Spike sniggered. Once Riley's lips touched the frog a bright light emanated from his hand. A very naked Sam was suddenly standing next to him. Spike whistled. Riley hurried to cover his wife as best he could. A blanket immediately appeared next to him. "Thank you," he said and Sam was soon covered.

While they situated themselves, Willow did a little dance. "It worked! Xander, your turn!"

Xander frowned at Spike. "I think I'll take Anya in the office."

"You've already taken her in there enough times, Whelp."

"Shut up, Spike!"

In less than a minute, a light could be seen through the spaces in the office door. Then they could hear: "Oh god Xander! It was horrible!"

"Reckon that worked too. And I reckon it's your turn now, Red." Spike said.

Willow looked a little apprehensive. "Yeah, I guess."

Dawn held the Tara-frog to her. "You can go use the training room."

Willow nodded and headed to the back. "Here goes nothing…"

"Wait!"

She turned around to see Dawn holding Tara's clothes. "Thanks," Willow said as she took them and continued on her way.

Everyone waited until they heard a "YES!" Their relief was short-lived though as a meek ribbit grabbed their attention. "Buffy," said Dawn.

Willow came back into the main area of the shop. "What do we do about Buffy?" Dawn asked her.

"I honestly don't know."

Sam, now dressed and decent, said, "Maybe anyone can do it. We automatically assumed that it has to be a lover. It could just be someone who loves her."

Willow shrugged. "We could try."

"I'll do it," said Dawn, looking as if in pain.

"How very brave of you," Spike said, amused.

"Hey! She's slimy!"

Willow laughed. "Use the office. Xander and Anya just finished."

Dawn nodded and went in.

Everyone waited.

Dawn came back out. "It didn't work. I guess it does have to be the one true love and all that romantic jazz. Ewww! I have to wash my lips before I get warts."

"Okay, we need Buffy's one true love," Xander started.

"Well that's easy," Anya said. "Angel, right? That was the big romance, wasn't it?"

Everyone glanced at Riley with some embarrassment. Riley smiled without difficulty. "It's alright, I've got my one true love," he said, squeezing Sam into his side.

"Me, too." Xander grinned and kissed Anya on the temple. "We should probably call dead boy then."

"I guess that's my cue to leave," said Riley. "It's been great seeing you guys again." He went around giving hugs and handshakes. He skipped Spike. "Most of you anyway."

Sam said goodbye as well. They quickly gathered up their things and went outside. The sound of a helicopter could be heard. Everyone in the shop watched as they ascended the copter on ropes and went on to their lives in Bolivia or Belize or wherever secret agents go.

Spike shook his head, "What a bloody stupid exit."

"I bet if you had a helicopter, you'd do it too." Dawn said.

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

Spike's next 'would not!' was cut off by Willow. "I'll call Angel and see how fast he can get down here."

Spike was sobered by those words. He wondered if that should be his cue to leave as well. If the mighty forehead could sense that anything had gone on between him and Buffy, well, a fun time would not be had by all. Things could get hairy. Spike proved his masochism by plunking down on a chair, feet on the table, as Willow made the call.

"Feet off the table!" Anya yelled from counter.

Spike slowly obeyed. He glanced at the Buffy-frog seated on the chair next to him. If frogs could glare… "Oi! Glinda!" Spike waited. "TARA!" he bellowed.

She stuck her head out of the office door. "I h-heard you the first time, Spike. What is it?"

"You don't suppose you could translate this frog speak, could you? You seem the type that can talk to animals."

Tara shook her head. "No, I can't." Spike looked so disappointed that it had her saying, "There should be some easy translating spell here though. Hold on."

Within a few minutes the spell was found and, with a reprimand from Anya about payment issues, the materials were collected. Tara mixed up the herbs and placed a dollop on Buffy's chin. A few words were spoken, and the deed was done. "Buffy?" Tara prodded.

"_Hello,_" Buffy tried.

"Great! I can hear you," Tara said, smiling. "Can you hear her Spike?"

"Yeah," replied Spike, indifferently, as if he didn't just ask her to do this very thing. Tara shook her head. She didn't want to know.

"Anya, Xander, you heard her too?" They nodded. "Good. I wonder what's taking Willow so long. I'll be back, guys." Tara left for the office.

Spike turned to Buffy. "So, pet, and you really are a pet now—"

"Shut up, Spike. Y ou can go home now." Xander interrupted as he bent near Buffy's face. "Hey, anything you need? Hungry? Thirsty?" He asked.

"_No, I'm fine. Thanks Xander. Where's Dawn?" _Buffy asked.

"Right here…Am I going crazy or can I understand frogese?" Dawn said confused. Her face looked pink and freshly scrubbed.

"We all can Bit. The good witch did a spell."

"Cool! Hey Fruffy!" Dawn said to her sister.

"_Fruffy_?"

"Yeah, it was better than Brog."

"Hey Nibblet, you don't have to say everything that runs across your mind. You know that, right?" Dawn hit Spike on the arm. Spike growled in her face and she shrieked.

Buffy sighed as the two of them played around some more. She was really hoping he'd leave soon. It was so mortifying when he'd walked in and found out she was a frog. But what was really embarrassing was the flood of feelings that rushed through her the moment she saw him. She was attracted to him. That was a fact she stopped denying the moment she started sleeping with him. She could always console herself with the fact that she didn't love or care about him and that it was just lust. The scary part about the feelings that flooded her was that there was something tender there. Something softer had been making itself known and that was part of the reason she broke up with him. If it ceased being just sex to her, a lot of things would have to change. Least of all, the way she treated him. She watched him play with her sister and annoy Xander. Would it really be so wrong for things to change? Could she treat him like a person and not be ashamed? Buffy couldn't answer those questions and she didn't want to think about them either. She could control the lust and if she could avoid him long enough, she was sure could suppress the affectionate thoughts too.

After what seemed like hours, Willow and Tara came out of the office. Everyone looked at them expectedly.

"I finally got in touch with Angel. They apparently have some big stuff going on up there." Willow said. "He said he'd be here as soon as possible."

"_Is there anything we can do until then?"_

Willow looked in surprised at her talking. "Not that I can think of. I can't do a general reversal since the spell has conditions laid in it. All we can do is wait for Angel."


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Of Frogs and True Love

Rated: PG-13

Author: Etoile

Email- Buffy/Spike. During As You Were. Buffy breaks up with Spike before Riley and Sam leave. The actual "doctor" was the Troika. They strike back at the Scoobies after Buffy blew up the eggs. Please review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sunnydale or anyone that lives there. They all belong to Joss Whedon.

A/N: I never did watch Angel but I did a tiny bit of research. So for that time line, this is after Loyalty but before Sleep Tight. All that means to me is that Angel's been a little cranky and craving human blood.

**Chapter Three**

Buffy liked to imagine that Angel was driving at breakneck speed to save her from the frog state she was in. But as the time stretched from one to two hours, she just imagined he was obeying the traffic laws. When the elapsed time began getting closer to three hours, she decided he was taking his sweet time.

"Is the poof even coming?" Spike said, exasperated. He looked worse than a six-year-old on a road trip.

"It's not like you have anything better to do," mocked Xander, who was half asleep at his seat.

Dawn, Tara, and Willow were all asleep in various locations around the Shop. Anya looked like she wanted to do the same. She kept looking for the clock to strike nine so she could officially close shop.

The upcoming reunion wasn't affecting Buffy the way she thought it would. When her friends had thought of calling Angel, she surprised herself by her complete lack of emotions at the idea. She wanted to think it was just comfort. That she knew Angel always came to the rescue and there was no need to be excited because it was expected. But that wasn't the case, and Buffy knew it. Things really hadn't been the same for a while now. If there was any proof, it was the awkward meeting they had after earlier in the fall. They had met in some random motel, sat around, and had a stuttered conversation. Maybe it was in part due to her distance. But there was a detachment from him too. Buffy had shrugged it off and figured the next time would be better. Now it was next time and she still felt odd about it.

Her one true love. _I hope they're right_. She felt bad for thinking it, but she just wasn't so sure anymore. She unconsciously glanced over at Spike. He had spent the first hour trying to get her attention and making moon eyes when he didn't. She had used Dawn as a shield then. He had gotten mad and spent the next hour outside, and probably smoked himself to a frenzy because now he was almost vibrating with unused energy. Buffy almost smiled at how ADD he could be. _The only time he isn't ADD is in bed._ Oh! She felt really bad for thinking that. She was supposed to be working on the lust.

The lull in the shop was interrupted by the cry of a car screeching to a halt outside the Shop. The sleepers were startled awake. A heavy feeling dropped in Buffy's stomach. She should be happy. She really should. Everyone else seemed happy now. Well, except Spike. He looked tense and ready for a fight. Letting him stay might have been a bad idea.

A figure could be seen coming closer to the entrance. Willow jumped from her seat to welcome Angel in. "Hey! We're so glad you could make it."

Angel nodded and walked in the room, giving a silent hello to the other people in the room. He didn't really look much different physically, but there was a weariness around him that subdued everyone's spirits a little. His eyes finally landed on Spike. Spike shifted and stood a little taller. Angel merely turned away and asked, "Where's Buffy?"

Willow pointed to the table in the back of the room. "She's sitting back there."

Angel nodded again. "Okay. What do I do?"

"Um, we set up some blankets in the training room. She'll be, ah, naked when she emerges. So, just take her back there and kiss her. On the head or wherever," Willow explained.

"Alright," said Angel and he walked over to pick Buffy up.

Spike watched the events take place with bile filling up his throat. It was just like the bastard to come in and save the day. Save the day and get the girl. For the millionth time, Spike cursed his luck. Why did he have to fall for the girls that would never fall for him? What a terrible dysfunction. Others had sex or alcohol. He was stuck on unrequited love. Cecily was too bitchy to love him. Dru was too mad. Buffy, though, Buffy was too scared. And that was the worst of the bunch. Because he was sure Buffy could love him, if she only let herself. There was little to nothing he could do to change her mind; he found that out recently. Stupid clichés aside, the ball was in her court and the next play was hers.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt to see Angel take her in there. The great big melodramatic love of her life. She would be turned back and then they'd cry and probably make love right there on the mats. And then Angelus would emerge and she would cry some more. People and puppies would die. Then the witch would magic his soul back and the damn thing would start over. It made Spike want to heave. So immersed was he in his depressing thoughts, that he didn't notice Angel come back out with a Buffy-frog still in his hands.

"It's not working, Willow. Is there anything else I have to do?" Angel asked, looking a little put out.

Willow looked mighty confused. "No, no. All I did was kiss her. Xander?"

"I just kissed her too, man." Xander shrugged.

"Well, it's not working." Angel repeated slowly.

Anya spoke up, "Aren't you supposed to be Buffy's true love? I mean, one would think so with the way the stories are told."

There was a great uncomfortable moment in the Shop. Spike smirked. "So this great love is no more?"

"_Spike!"_ Buffy spoke his name sharply. There was a shine to her great big frog eyes that he hadn't seen before. It lodged any more jeers in the back of his throat. But the damage was done. With a flash of vampiric speed, Angel grabbed his throat and slammed him against a wall.

"Get off me you great ponce!" Spike choked out.

Dawn ran over and ineffectually pulled at Angel's right arm. Angel's eyes glinted gold. He raised his left hand and began swinging down towards Dawn. He suddenly stopped as if he was coming to his senses. He dropped Spike to the floor and strode to the front door of the Shop. "I, I don't have time for this. I'm sorry," and with that, Angel left as swiftly as he had come.

Spike could hear everyone's elevated heartbeats in the room. Dawn looked the most scared of everyone. He reached over and rubbed the back of her ear. "Thanks, Sweet Bit. You okay?" He asked softly.

"Yeah," Dawn whispered. "I think he was gonna hit me."

"Um, how about next time we _don't _call the psycho vampire?" Xander said.

Willow came out of her trance. "Well, it wasn't Angelus. That was Angel. I could sense the soul."

"H-he s-seemed k-kinda preoccupied when he first came in."

"Yeah, preoccupied with killing us."

"Xander!"

"He almost hit Dawn!"

They began arguing among each other.

"_Guys!_" Everyone stopped and looked at Buffy. "_I'm still a frog."_

"Oh gosh! Sorry, I forgot." Said Willow.

"_What are we going to do? I'm starting to freak out now. I really hate these geeks."_

Anya agreed with her. "Me too. Who knew their plan would work? I would have—"

Xander stopped her by placing a hand on her arm. "Maybe we should close up, Ahn?" She shrugged and went about the Shop business.

Spike spoke up, "Well, what's the great plan now, witches?"

They looked confused. "I guess," Willow started. "If Buffy hasn't met her true love yet we'll just have to find some other way to break the spell."

"_I think I'm gonna go into the training room."_

Willow looked chagrinned. "Buffy, are you okay? I didn't apologize about the Angel thing. We just naturally assumed…"

"_Yeah, I know. I'll be fine." _Buffy hopped slowly into the training room, Spike's eyes following her every hop.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Of Frogs and True Love

Rated: PG-13

Author: Etoile

Email- Buffy/Spike. During As You Were. Buffy breaks up with Spike before Riley and Sam leave. The actual "doctor" was the Troika. They strike back at the Scoobies after Buffy blew up the eggs. Please review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sunnydale or anyone that lives there. They all belong to Joss Whedon.

**Chapter Four**

Spike surreptitiously slipped closer and closer to the door to the training room. He was just passing the last book case now. Everyone seemed bent on researching Buffy's problem and nobody was paying him any mind.

"Oh Spike! Can you grab that book next to your hand? Thanks!" Willow said.

Spike jumped up as if he'd been burned. "Uh, uh, sure," he stammered. He handed the witch the book and waited a few seconds. "Think I'm gonna go for a smoke," he announced.

Willow absentmindedly waved her hand as she became immersed in new Folklores book.

Spike glanced around the rest of the room and then made his way into the training room. He saw Buffy squating on the pummel horse, softly sobbing. Spike leaned closer to the crying frog (and how weird was that?) and said, "Buffy, Buffy, love, stop crying. It's not worth your tears."

"_Not worth my tears? Do you know what this means?_"

"So he's not your one true love. Big fucking deal." Spike swung himself onto the other side of the pummel horse. He paused. "How did you get up here anyway?"

She ignored the question. "_It is a big deal Spike! I've always been able to hold on to the fact that 'hey, at least I have Angel.' This is like saying there's, there's no Santa Claus or something."_

"Exactly!"

"_Huh?"_

"Even before someone told you there was no Santa Claus, you always suspected din't you? It was always in the back of your mind: this doesn't make any bloody sense. Can anything really be this great and perfect? If I'm good, then I get everything I want? And when they told you, you kinda felt better, you know? Like everything clicked. And you saw that the world was flawed. But therein laid the beauty of the whole thing, you know?"

Buffy finally stopped crying. "_No…That was just weird Spike. Wait, how old were you when you found out there was no Santa Claus? 'Cause I doubt you thought that when you were eight."_

Spike sighed, exasperated. "It was a bloody metaphor, Slayer!"

"_Well, that metaphor sucked."_ Buffy sniffled.

They sat in silence for some time until Spike spoke, "What if it was me?"

"_What?"_

"What if it was me? What if I'm your one true love?"

Buffy laughed. "_It would never be you Spike."_

Spike's mouth twisted in what could be called a smile, but his eyes weren't smiling. "I know, but what if it is?"

He looked strangely emboldened and for some reason, that scared Buffy. She wasn't sure what he might try in this state, but the last thing she wanted was his lips anywhere near her.

"Are you scared Slayer?"

She hopped back. "_No,_" she said, contradictory to her actions.

"You're scared that it might be me aren't you?"

"_No!"_ She hopped back another step.

Spike stopped and looked her over. He hadn't studied the body language of frogs before but this one looked petrified. He shook his head, half in anger and half in sadness. "You would rather stay a frog than let me kiss you, wouldn't you?"

"_Willow_'_s working on something right now. It won't be too long."_

"And what if it doesn't work? What of that then?" Spike waited. She didn't say anything. "You'd rather stay a frog, wouldn't you? Say it Slayer. You can't hurt me anymore than you already have."

"_Fine, I would."_

Spike's head fell to his chest. "Well, I was wrong about that too. That bloody hurts." He raised his head, his eyes glinting suspiciously. "You know what? I wish you the fucking best." He swung off the pummel horse and strode angrily towards the door.

"_Spike."_ He didn't stop. "_Spike!_ _I'm sorry okay?_"

"You're sorry?" He took a deep unneeded breath. When he spoke, it was so soft she had to strain to hear him. "You hate me that much, Slayer?"

"_I don't hate you, Spike. I really don't. And that's the problem._"

Spike shook his head. "How's that a problem?"

There was silence and finally Buffy said what had been on her mind for the last few days. "_I don't want to love you."_ She paused. "_But I'm afraid that I could."_

A feather could have knocked Spike over at that moment. A little bubble of hope began to grow in his chest. The words weren't necessarily a surprise; he already knew that she could love him. But he never would have imagined she'd acknowledge it out loud. The 'I can't love you's' had now become 'I don't want to love you's' and Spike thought that might be better. At least it was the truth. He turned and looked at her earnestly, "Buffy, you shouldn't be afraid to love."

"_But it's you, Spike! Arch-enemy. No soul. Evil. Do these words mean anything to you? Because they mean a lot to me. They mean I can't trust you. I already had a relationship where there was no trust. I'm not doing it again."_

"You can trust me! All this evil, soulless shit is just that: shit! I love you, Buffy. I love you. I can change. Hell, I have changed. You're just not seeing it!"

"_You haven't changed so much that you don't keep demon eggs in your crypt."_ Buffy accused.

Spike growled and almost kicked a chair into the wall. He just stopped himself when he remembered that the Scoobies were still in the other room. "I'm going to say this one time, Slayer," he rumbled softly close to her ear. "I didn't do it."

Buffy looked incredulously at him. "_You can't expect me to believe that."_

Spike shrugged. "Only saying it the once. You'll have to trust my word."

Buffy stared at him. She looked down. "_I can't."_

Spike turned away from her again. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go far away where he wouldn't have to deal with this non-relationship of theirs. Where he could forget her in time. But he couldn't. He was stuck to the cursed Hellmouth and his cursed love. He doubted he could even forget her if he did leave. She had changed him on a molecular level. Buffy was lodged in every crevice of his being. There was no forgetting that.

He could go. Maybe he could find some kind of shaman. He could find someone who could remove the love inside of him. Yeah, that's what he'd do. Good riddance to the whole damn lot of them. He turned to Buffy, ready to give a parting remark.

"Let me kiss you." He said instead.

"_Spike…"_ Buffy pleaded.

He shook his head. It was out there now. This was what he wanted. "Let me try. You don't believe it will work and truth be told, neither do I. But," Spike's voice took on a deep tone. "I have to try, love. I want to know once and for all if this… I have to know."

"_I don't think I want to know."_

"Don't you? We're both scared about this. I'm scared it won't work and you're scared it will. But at least we'll know. At least, something will have to change. We won't be stuck in the bloody circle anymore. We'll know."

"_And then what, Spike?"_

"…I don't know." Spike suddenly swooped down and leaned into Buffy, lips ready. He waited to see if she would move. She didn't. So, he closed his eyes and kissed her head.

He didn't have to open them to sense the bright light around him; but he did anyway. He wanted to see her transform before his eyes. Her nude form emerged and he grabbed one of the blankets from the floor and handed it to her. He tried to catch her eyes as she wrapped it around her body.

"Buffy—"

"Don't!" She said. She finally looked up. "Don't say anything. Just, just leave. I just want to be alone right now, okay?" Her eyes were shimmering with unshed tears.

Spike wanted to stay. He wanted to hold her. But he didn't know what to do. He slipped out the back door and sat down in the alley. Part of him was overjoyed. But another part thought about what she said before he kissed her: 'And then what, Spike?' He didn't know. But this wasn't looking like happily ever after.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Of Frogs and True Love

Rated: PG-13

Author: Etoile

Email- Buffy/Spike. During As You Were. Buffy breaks up with Spike before Riley and Sam leave. The actual "doctor" was the Troika. They strike back at the Scoobies after Buffy blew up the eggs. Please review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sunnydale or anyone that lives there. They all belong to Joss Whedon.

A/N: I think this was originally going to be five chapters, but it got away from me a bit. It should be wrapped up with one more chapter though, or maybe two...

**Chapter Five**

Buffy was lying down on the floor of the training room. She was no longer naked, but dressed in some of the spare work out clothes she kept in the room. Her head was swimming. She couldn't make sense of most of the thoughts going through her head but they all had to do with one person: Spike. She could still sense him near her so she knew he hadn't gone far. Buffy supposed she should be angry with him. She had told him she wanted to be alone. But instead, his proximity comforted her above all else.

She wouldn't tell him that of course. She didn't know what part of her brain decided that he could be let in on her big secret; that she could love him. So, no, she wouldn't tell him that she felt better when he was around. He'd probably get a bigger head than he had now. Although, Buffy would admit, he hadn't looked quite as cocky as she'd expected after he kissed her. He'd looked as astonished as she felt. Astonished that he was her… No, she wasn't going to go down that road. That road led to disturbing thoughts. The thoughts that she'd been repressing successfully until today.

"Hey! I think I found something!" She heard Willow's voice exclaim from the main room.

A few seconds later she heard a dejected, "Never mind."

She knew Willow hadn't been sleeping a lot lately. Anya had been working all morning. Dawn probably hadn't even started on her homework yet. Buffy couldn't remember anyone eating dinner. There were a lot of good reasons why she should go into that room and stop them from their unnecessary research. But there was one reason why she couldn't: she didn't know how to explain her new state. Buffy could just imagine their reactions to the truth.

Buffy frowned. She was being unfair. She ignored the voice that pointed out her friends hadn't always been fair to her. Buffy stood up and moved closer to the door. She could and would discuss this like the adult she was. She opened the door to face her friends.

Dawn turned around first. "Hey Buffy," she mumbled sleepily and turned back to the giant book in front of her. She swiftly turned again, fully awake now. "Buffy! You're not a frog!"

Everyone else turned from their research to look in amazement at Buffy.

"Hi guys," she waved weakly.

They rushed her and began bombarding her with questions. Buffy opened and closed her mouth. She really should have practiced something before she came out. "One at a time," she said. "I don't know what you're asking."

Xander spoke, "We're probably all asking the obvious here: how'd you change back?"

Buffy began stumbling on explanation, while clearly avoiding the question. She could tell that her circuitous response was beginning to appear very suspicious by the looks in her friends' eyes. Xander looked like he was about to call her on it. Buffy didn't think she could have been more relieved to hear the bell above the Magic Box ding.

She quickly turned toward the door to welcome the customer. The greeting never reached fruition when she saw that it wasn't a customer, but Angel.

"Damn, I thought I locked that," Anya said, clearly displeased to see the vampire.

Buffy truthfully couldn't say she was any more pleased either. She really should have practiced a believable lie.

Before she could say anything though, Angel was speaking. "I'm so sorry for earlier." He looked around the room, stopping on Dawn. "I had to come back to apologize for my behavior. I couldn't leave things the way they were. I, I shouldn't have lashed out like that." He shook his head. "I've just been so stressed lately. And it's not an excuse. I just feel like—" He stopped suddenly and looked at Buffy. "You're human." He declared as if she didn't know.

"Yeah, about that…"

Angel's face lit up. "So it worked then. That's a relief! I wonder why it took so long, though."

"Well…Angel, can we talk outside? I don't think that…um, I mean… Maybe we should stay here. I need to tell everyone too." As Buffy fumbled her word, a look of perception began appearing on Angel's face.

"It wasn't me, was it?"

Buffy paused and looked around at the rest of her friends. She gazed back at Angel and shook her head. "No, it wasn't." She said.

Angel looked composed but his voice was hard when he asked, "Who was it?"

Buffy shrugged helplessly. "Does it matter?" She asked, hoping against all hope he'd say no and go back to LA.

"Wait, where's Spike? Was it Spike?" Angel laughed. "Sorry, that was completely out there."

He laughed some more but stopped when he realized nobody else were laughing. Everyone was looking at Buffy. And Buffy was silent.

"Oh my God! Spike's your true love?" Dawn squealed in a high pitch.

"WHAT? No he's not." Xander said. He looked imploringly at Buffy. "He's not, right?"

Buffy opened her mouth, ready to lie to her friends. But nothing would come out.

Then came the commotion she had feared. Everyone was asking questions about whether she was sure. How, when did it happen? But surprisingly, she didn't care about any of that. The most important thing that moment was the storm cloud growing on Angel's face. He looked like he was out for blood. He began sniffing the air. "He's still here," Angel barked shortly.

Buffy took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Angel. Whatever it is you're thinking, unthink it now."

Angel shook his gameface on. "I'll teach him to ever touch what's mine again."

Now Buffy was angry. "I'm not yours Angel."

"So you're his?"

"I'm no one's! Okay? Nobody owns me but me. This stupid macho thing? It ends now." Buffy stood in front of him, trying to make an eye connection.

Angel pushed her aside and rushed into the training room. Buffy followed right after him. The Scoobies looked at each other and ran for the door as well. They stayed outside it with the door open and watched the action unfold. Angel had taken Spike by the neck again.

"Angel, put him down!" Buffy said, frustrated at the turn of events.

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me Slayer." Spike twisted and managed to get out of the choke-hold.

They circled each other.

"What's this all about, Angelus?" Spike jeered. "Find out the girl's not yours anymore?"

Buffy sighed. "Do I have to go over Buffy-ownership with you too? Can you both stop this oh so very impressive display of machismo?"

"She'll never be yours Spike," taunted Angel, as if Buffy hadn't even spoken.

"What? Are you daft? I think the fact that I broke the spell kinda disproves that mate."

"The spell," Angel scoffed. "You probably put it on them to try to screw with their minds."

Spike looked incredulous. "You really believe that don't you?" He shook his head. "Well, I don't care what you bloody think. I just need you to get out of my town before I kick your ass."

Angel smirked. "It's your town now? I see you've still got those delusions of grandeur boy."

Spike was livid. He hated when Angelus called him a boy, and Angel knew it. He remarkably held his emotions in check and glanced over at Buffy. "Tell Mr. Forehead to leave now before I get—" A fist caught him on his side. He grabbed the right side of his ribs as he fell onto one knee. He snarled and leapt to his feet. "That was a mistake, you bastard. And that was cheap. That's the only one you're getting tonight." With that, Spike unleashed a series of swift punches, most of them landing on Angel's smug face. He felt himself being grabbed from behind by the Slayer.

"Don't Spike." She whispered as she held his arms back.

Angel wiped off the blood coming from the side of his mouth. He glared at the two of them. "Is this how it is?"

"It doesn't have to be," Buffy said. "Can we please talk outside Angel?" She posed again.

He grudgingly accepted and they stepped out into the alley. The door closed resoundingly behind them.

Spike sat down on the bench behind him. They would probably… No. He put his face in his hands and tried to keep his mind off whatever was happening outside.

A soft voice resonated above him. "Let me take care of your hands." He looked up and saw Tara holding a small first aid kit. She took his silence as acquiescence and she began working on them. Spike looked around for the rest of the Slayer's friends. The whelp, with a grimace on his face, was being reluctantly dragged off by the demon-girl. Willow remained in the doorway looking at him with something like bewilderment. Spike lowered his head. _Wonder of wonders_, he thought, _nobody's killing me yet._ No one looked really happy of course, but nobody had attacked him. Other than Angel.

Dawn came over and sat down next to him. "So you're really Buffy's true love?"

Spike looked at her. He amended his last thought. Dawn looked really happy. He raised one side of his mouth in a half-hearted smirk and said, "Yeah." He looked toward the back door. "Hope she remembers," he muttered.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Of Frogs and True Love

Rated: PG-13

Author: Etoile

Email- Buffy/Spike. During As You Were. Buffy breaks up with Spike before Riley and Sam leave. The actual "doctor" was the Troika. They strike back at the Scoobies after Buffy blew up the eggs. Please review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sunnydale or anyone that lives there. They all belong to Joss Whedon.

A/N: Sorry for the wait but school beckoned. I just finished the last of my tests and I don't have another one for about a week and a half. So, I hope to get chapter seven up by Sunday.

**Chapter Six**

Buffy knew the imminent conversation would be hard. She couldn't remember the last time her and Angel had a conversation of any real significance. The time at the motel after Willow brought her back definitely didn't count. And the last time she had seen him before then was after her mother's funeral. They had sat on a hill and said a lot of meaningless words to each other. Well, maybe she was being unfair. They weren't necessarily meaningless. At the time they had comforted her. But, in essence, those words were futile. She and Angel hadn't had a real relationship, friends or otherwise, with each other since he left for Los Angeles. Buffy wondered why he was so upset now. And why he was acting like he had some kind of a claim to her. He sure hadn't mentioned it the past three years.

_Three years_, she thought to herself. _It's been three years._ Buffy hardly remembered who she was three years ago. The year she blew up the school. The year Angel left her. She remembered who Angel was three years ago. She was sure he still had an image of high school Buffy in his head, too. He didn't know this Buffy standing before him. And she didn't know him anymore either.

"Angel," began Buffy tentatively.

He rushed in during the slight pause she gave. "You couldn't have me so you decided to throw yourself at the first vampire around?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes and tightened her fists as a hot surge of anger ran through her. She really didn't know this guy. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

To his credit, Angel looked properly apologetic. He held up his hands in surrender, looked to the sky, and shook his head. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for, I know. I don't know what's up with me."

Buffy cooled down only a little as she huffed, "Yeah, neither do I. But you need to get a major handle on that before I get mad."

Angel smiled amusedly. "You look like you're already mad."

"Well, it was a really stupid thing to say," Buffy said evenly, the appearance of a warmer Angel tempering her attitude.

"Yeah…sorry…"

There was another awkward pause. Buffy sighed inwardly; she had about had her fill of those today. This already seemed like the dreary motel meeting. They were out here, supposedly to talk, weren't they? And yet, no words. They were avoiding the issue at hand and it was painfully obvious. _What happened to us?_ Buffy thought. _We used to talk…_

But did they? Buffy thought about it. How long had it taken for Angel to tell her he was a vampire? And really he hadn't; she found out accidentally. And he never talked about Darla or Drusilla or even Spike for that matter. Or the curse and his past life. Sure, they were painful subjects. But they were in a relationship. Things shouldn't have been so veiled. Of course, Buffy had kept a number of things hidden from Angel as well. Had they really never talked? Was that why she felt so odd with Spike and his always wanting to talk things out? Buffy shook her head. She hoped not.

"Why are you shaking your head?" Angel asked, ripping her away from her thoughts.

Buffy gazed up at him. "What aren't you saying, Angel?" she finally asked.

Angel looked at her questioningly.

Buffy elaborated. "There seems to be a lot on your mind and I'm just—"

"There's nothing on my mind," Angel interrupted. He amended, "except for what the hell is Spike doing here being your… your…" He couldn't continue.

"One true love," Buffy finished for him.

Angel glared. "You seem a little too okay with this."

She cringed. "Not okay. Really not okay. I've just a little more time to get used to it."

"Get used to it? You shouldn't want to get used to it."

"Angel—"

"What the hell's been going on here? Just how long have you had to get used to it?'

Buffy couldn't look him in the eyes and looked over to the trash cans in the corner instead. "You've been gone a long time, Angel. A lot of things have changed."

"Just how much could have changed for you to let him be anywhere near you?" When he didn't get a response, Angel grabbed her shoulder and practically yelled in her face, "Tell me!"

Buffy head snapped back to face him. "I am not a child." She said coldly and moved his hand off her left shoulder. "I've gone through a lot. My mom's death, my death. So you don't get to come here and order me around like I'm 17. Okay?"

She didn't realized she'd been moving forward with every phrase until Angel's back hit the wall on the other side of the alleyway.

"I'm sorry." He said again.

"Yeah, you keep saying that. I wonder if you really mean it."

"I'm only sorry if I upset you in anyway. But what else do you expect? That I'd be happy to find that Spike's been here sniffing around you?

Buffy rolled her eyes at the analogy. "Okay, he's been here. Where have you been?" She challenged.

That gave Angel a pause. He tried to step back. "I have important things to do in LA. You know that. We can't be…"

"We can't be together?" Buffy completed. "So why the hell do you care who I'm with, Angel?"

"Are you saying you're with him?

"I'm saying you left!" Buffy exclaimed, exasperated with the entire conversation. "You left! You chose to do your work. So that means: you have no say."

Angel looked at Buffy with the sad puppy dog eyes. He was begging her for something, but she didn't know what. He shook his head and spoke, "I just always thought…that maybe later. Maybe later, you know? After all the work was done…we would be…" He trailed off, not wanting to put that longing into words.

She sighed and softened. "I know, I thought that too. But, I think this past year has made me realized something: there are no guarantees in life. Faith used to say want, take, have. Maybe you should just take what you want right now."

Buffy found herself unable to continue because of the arrival of Angel's lips on hers. "Mmmpphhff," she let out as his tongue roughly tried to part her lips. Buffy struggled against the kiss and managed to break free of his hold on her. She wiped her mouth in shock.

"Okay. That take what you want statement? Did not mean me."

Angel reached for her again and she stepped back. "Look, I did what you said. Want, take, have? I wanted you."

Buffy frowned and looked into his puzzled eyes. He didn't seem all too confident in his words. "Did you, really?" She asked. "Did you really want me or some idea of me that you have in your head?" Angel opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him with a raised hand. "Really think about this."

"I know you think I haven't been here—"

"You haven't."

"—But you're still Buffy—"

"Not the Buffy you knew. Things, _a lot_ of things, have happened. I've changed. And I'm sure things have happened to you, too. The Angel I knew never would have done that." Buffy sighed. "I don't know if we're really what we were to each other anymore."

Angel became a little less imposing as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He shook his head slowly. "I know you're right. The Angel _I_ knew wouldn't have done that either. A lot of things do have me stressed back in LA. But," He stood a little taller now. "I think the main problem is Spike."

Buffy looked baffled. "Spike hasn't been in LA recently."

"See, exactly! Why would you know his schedule? I thought he was just muscle." Angel looked agitated. "I meant why does it have to be Spike? God, anybody else would be better! I mean, whatever happened to that annoying little soldier?"

She rolled her eyes in response.

"And you still haven't answered my question yet."

"What question?"

"Are you with Spike?"

Was she with Spike? That was the question of the day. She really, really didn't know what to say. They technically broke up today, so she could say no. They weren't together in the strictest of definitions. But in a way, she knew they kind of were and it wouldn't be fair to Spike to say no. When she started caring about being fair to Spike, she didn't know. Nevertheless, they weren't finished yet. They could still break up, but they had to talk first.

Buffy decided to stall. "Well, you didn't answer my question either. About what seems to be on your mind?"

Angel shook his head. "We're going to keep going in a circle, aren't we?"

"Not if you keep hiding from me! You seem to think I'm the only one who has to discuss their life here. If you want anything to happen, there has to be some give and take."

Angel looked torn. "I…would. But I can't. I'm sorry. When everything settles, I'll talk to you about it. I just don't think now is the best time."

Buffy stared at him in silence for a moment and shrugged. "Then I don't think we have anything to talk about."

Angel looked away. They were both quiet for a few minutes, thoughts running through both their minds. Angel finally looked back at her. "I love you Buffy. And I always will," he said, gazing into her eyes earnestly.

She sighed. "I love you too, Angel."

"And I want you to be happy. I just don't think it will be with Spike."

"It may be; it may not. That's my decision to make." Buffy surprised even herself.

"I can't believe this! You're actually with that son of a bitch."

Buffy said nothing. Then she whispered, "Maybe. I like him. A lot more than I ever thought I would." She let out a defensive little huff in the face of his incredulity. "He's not the same guy you remember. He's trying to be a good person. I don't give him enough credit for that, either. And he loves me. So much."

"Do you love him?"

"I…can't tell you that."

"So, you don't?"

"I can't tell you that either."

Angel groaned. He gazed at the sky and muttered expletives about Spike. "This isn't what I planned."

"Me neither. But sometimes you have no control over what happens in life." Buffy thought over the past few years. She never would have imagined this scene three years ago. That she would be finally letting go of Angel. She was sure her high school self would be upset at her for doing so. She had wanted to love him forever; she had never wanted to move on. But though he'd always be in her heart, she just wasn't in love with him anymore. Buffy was chagrinned that it took so long for her to realize it.

"Well this has been an enlightening night," Angel stated sardonically. "I think I'll be heading back to LA before I learn anything else. Ignorance is bliss." Angel halfway joked, still looking a little upset.

Buffy smiled a little, walking toward the training room door.

Angel shook his head. "I'm just going to go through the alley. I might be calm now, but I don't need to see him. I might go off."

Buffy nodded in understanding.

Angel made his way toward the street. He paused and turned back to Buffy. "I do want you to be happy, Buffy. And I really hope you know what you're doing."

Buffy smiled. "I do."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Finally, the spuffy lovin'. This last chapter took forever. Sorry for the wait. I probably should have split it into two but I wanted to finish this in seven chapters (for the fairy tale theme and all). Thank you very much to everyone's that's posted a review! This is the first story I've finished and I hope to make it a habit.

**Chapter Seven**

Spike waited as patiently as he could in the training room. The poof was long gone. He'd heard the roar of his sports car a few minutes ago. That was a good sign, unless Buffy went with him. He shook his head for thinking that especially since he could feel the slayer's heartbeat reverberating in him like a drumbeat. She was still out there, in the alley. Probably too damn scared to come in. Well, he'd give her two more minutes. Then he was going out there.

Needing to do something, his hands patted his chest, looking for his cigarettes. Too late he remembered he had taken off his duster in the main shop area. Well, he wasn't going back there. He could still hear everybody else in there. And though they hadn't killed him yet, he wasn't taking a chance until he knew where he stood with the Slayer.

Spike glared at the back door with all his might, as if it would open under the power of his stare. He jumped back in surprise when the door actually did open.

Buffy looked a little startled to see him too, as if she thought he'd be gone. _Where else on earth would I be?_ Spike thought to himself.

They stared at each other for several minutes without speaking. Spike wasn't going to go first. He refused to go first. He wanted her to take the initiative for once. He almost caved when Buffy finally said, "We should talk."

"So…let's talk." He swung onto the pummel horse once again. He suddenly remembered, "Hey, you never said how you got up here."

"No, I didn't." Buffy answered and sat down on the mat across from him.

Spike was bemused. "You musta had some strong legs, pet." He looked down at her human legs. He knew just how strong those were. His concentration was lost as he recalled one particularly physical night. He had bruises on his hips for a couple of days after.

"Stop staring at my legs, Spike."

"Huh? What?" Spike jerked his attention to her face. "Oh yeah, talking. So, where were we? Doesn't matter. Let's move on to the part where we're meant for each other."

Buffy expelled a long sigh. "It's a lot to drop on a person, Spike."

"What? Hey, it wasn't my spell. You'd do well to remember that before you start slinging accusations this way."

She glared at him. "I'm not saying it was your fault."

"Damn right, it wasn't!"

"And I'm not even going to try and deny the truth of the spell—"

Spike placed a look of mock surprise on his face. "No denial? But that's what you do best."

Buffy continued as if he hadn't spoken a word. "I know it's…true. But you've known you love me for a long time now. I'm not there yet. I just finally accepted that I could even _have_ deeper feelings for you when this spell knocked everything over. And now, suddenly, you are the one. My one." Buffy shook her head as the thought just hit her again. "But you're still you, and that really throws me for a loop."

"I'm still me?"

"You're still you. You know, you with the happy meals on legs. With the kidnapping and icky chains. With the illegal eggs."

Spike hopped down from the horse, irritation welling up quickly inside of him. He didn't want to hear one more thing about those damn Suvolte eggs. "I didn't—"

"I know, I know, you didn't do it. But how do I really know?" Buffy asked.

A lot of responses came to his head. Spike batted each of them down as quickly as they came. She looked like she desperately wanted an answer. And that was when it hit him. Buffy really did want to trust him, but she didn't know how. He'd always assumed she just wasn't trying. That she could, she just wouldn't. Seeing how wrong he was completely deflated him. He must have looked like a fish with his mouth opening and closing every few seconds.

"And how can you trust me?" She asked.

Spike shook head at the change in subject. "Trust you to do what?"

"To not stake you. How do you know that one day I'm not going to decide to carry out my sacred duty?"

"I don't."

Buffy stood up to face him. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. How can we go into this without knowing what's going to happen?"

Spike chuckled. "We're not soddin' soothslayers, pet. Nobody knows what's gonna happen in the future. This isn't a slayer/vampire thing. This is a man/woman thing. Joyce didn't know your dad was gonna cheat on her. If she did, you wouldn't be here right now."

Buffy shook her head, mostly in frustration because she knew he had a point. She said, "But we have every reason to believe that this won't work." She threw her hands up. "So you're the one. Is there really a happily ever after anymore?"

Spike sighed, exasperated with the discussion. It didn't feel like they were resolving anything. She would make every excuse she could find so he decided to hand her the final piece. "I know 'm not good enough for you, luv."

"What? That's not what I'm saying Spike. I don't like…don't put me on a pedestal."

He began to pace. "It's the truth and you know it. I'm not putting you anywhere but where you are right now. And right now, you're a right bloody mess. But even with your faults, I'm still not good enough for you. And that's what this is all about isn't it?" He stopped his erratic movements and just looked at her. His eyes were begging for her to understand his heart. "But I want to be. With every bit of my soulless being, I want to be enough for you. And I wish that counted for something." Spike paused, waiting for a response and continued when there was none. He was so tired. "I don't know. I'm gonna stop pretending I understand anything anymore. Maybe you'd be crazy for trusting me. Maybe I'm crazy for trusting _you_. But maybe you should just stop being so damn scared of this."

Buffy's reply was caught in her throat as she looked at him. He wasn't pacing anymore. But even at a standstill, looking about as worn out as she'd ever seen him, Spike looked like a spring, tightly coiled. There was so much energy in him. She wondered how it got there. She doubted William (the real version of William she'd had squirmed out of him one night) ever had that much energy. If Buffy remembered just one thing from her chemistry class it was that energy couldn't be created or destroyed, but converted from one form to another.

She had felt some of that energy leave him and go into her when they slept together. Buffy knew because she had never felt that sort of heat with anybody. She didn't have a vast amount of comparisons, only the one night each with Angel and Parker and then her time with Riley. But she had never even imagined half of the things she and Spike did with each other. She had never felt that hot with any of them.

Buffy thought of the times in the past few months. The hours she had spent under, on top, around him. The way his hard body felt under her fingertips. The way his hair felt both hard and soft when she ran her hands through it. The way his skin tasted on her tongue. Her heart began to beat faster. Buffy knew he could sense it, but she didn't care.

She was never like that before. It must have been Spike. He had changed her on a very real level. And here was the kicker: she didn't want to go back. That Buffy might have been safe, but she was also so weary. And that was much more dangerous to a slayer any day. If she ever became that world-weary again, she'd be a second away from the grave. Now, she wanted to live. Maybe Spike wasn't safe, but at least she wanted to live, and that counted for something. It counted for a lot.

Buffy hands almost itched to touch him; to allow that electrical energy of his to seep into her again. She gave in and took one of his hands in hers. She could feel him physically relax and marveled at how her calm energy transferred into him. Chemistry had never been this much fun. She felt another flush of heat run through her.

He looked a little puzzled at the changes in her. "What are you thinking of?"

"Your nipples," Buffy murmured without thinking. She jerked her hand back and flushed again, this time entirely from embarrassment.

Spike smirked. "They are things of beauty, I've been told."

"By who?" Buffy's eyes narrowed.

"Jealous, pet?"

"Never," she replied. For once, Spike didn't call her on her lie and merely gave her a little smile, the hint of sadness around his mouth not allowing a full grin.

Buffy's eyes began tingling and she had to look away before he caught on to the little droplets of saline at the corners of her eyes. Oh, she was in trouble. She could never hurt him again, could she? Not when it hurt her too. How had it come to this? She thought she had only invited him into her bed. How had he gotten into her heart?

"It counts for something." She admitted in a whisper. She looked back up at him and saw his questioning gaze. "I know you're trying. I did see it and I kinda ignored it. I'm sorry I cut you down so much and denied everything you did. Acknowledging it meant making your feelings real and this thing between us… I'm sorry."

"It's okay Slayer. I din't hold it against you. I wasn't the most supportive bloke either. All that darkness stuff." Spike actually looked apologetic. "It couldn't have helped you much. And I'm sorry for that."

Buffy shook her head. She didn't want his pardon. But she knew she was already forgiven before she even said sorry. At times like these, she wondered what she did to deserve that kind of love. He had his jackass foot-in-mouth tendencies. But the side she got to see, the side she doubted many people had seen, could be so…sweet. She knew he definitely wouldn't like that word, but he was. Spike could love like nobody she'd ever known and that fact had always comforted her. When she found out he loved her, Buffy knew that it meant his complete and utter devotion. She had seen the way he was with Drusilla. And she had used that weakness (or was it a strength?) against him. Buffy sighed; she was sorry for that too.

"You were right Spike; I'm scared of having a real relationship with you. But mostly I'm scared that I already do. And if there's anything I know about my relationships, it's that the guy always leaves." She struggled against the water accumulating in her eyes, but gravity could only be fought for so long. They spilled over her cheeks. She brushed them off in frustration. "See, tears!" She said pointing at them. "If I'm this upset now, imagine when you actually leave."

Spike reached and brushed off the last tear with his thumb. He continued to rub the spot on her cheek softly. "Know this Buffy: I will never leave you. The only way you could get rid of me is by killing me."

She sniffled. "That won't make me happy either."

"Then I'll make sure it never comes to that." He promised and then asked, "So what do you really want, love?"

She looked up into his eyes and searched them. At that moment, she let go. Spike was right. There was no way to know what would happen in the future. And she had told Angel herself: there are no guarantees in life. Buffy wanted this; she wanted Spike. Maybe it was time to just take him, fully, and let the future take care of itself.

Buffy gave the question careful deliberation. "I just don't want to rush into this…again. I do care about you, Spike. You, you've become important to me. I want us to…be together."

Spike raised an eyebrow, half in question and half in suggestion.

"Not like that. Well… Yeah, like that. But mostly I want to get to know you. I want to learn to trust you," She added, with a determined look. "I mean, the sex was great, but I want to make this about something else."

"So, you want to, what, bloody date?" Spike asked, dubiously.

"It sounds stupid, I know, after all we've done with each other. Mainly though, I just want to take this slow."

"We've never done it slow, have we?" He arched an eyebrow suggestively.

"Spike!"

"No, I know, luv. We'll go slow. I'll ask you out; buy you flowers, and the like." He began to step in even closer to her. "Take you out to dinner someplace fancy. And we can talk rubbish about our hopes and dreams." There was a light touch of his fingertips on her cheek and Spike smoothly brushed the hair away from her face. He leaned in to her and spoke softly in her ear, his voice thick and velvety. "Then take you home, where I'll _slowly_ lay you down on my bed. I'll worship your body with my tongue, _slowly._ And when I enter you, so _slowly_, you'll weep." He pressed his lips to her ear.

Buffy tried not to blush or raise her heart rate. But there was his proximity. And then the promise in those words. She failed miserably. She saw him smirk as he noticed the effect he was having on her. Buffy smacked him on his shoulder. His smirk became a broad grin. It was too infectious. She couldn't help but smile back and placed her hand back on his shoulder, this time rubbing the muscle through his t-shirt in a caress. "I think I'll like your dates." She admitted and she worked her way up his neck. Her fingers ran through the hair at his nape.

Spike rolled into her caress and held her at her waist. "You sure you wanna do this here? With your mates right next door?"

She moved her other hand to the back of his neck. "Well, they haven't come in yet. But it would be just my luck they'd come in when we're making out."

She let out a little sigh of protest as Spike stepped back from her embrace. "We are telling 'em, right?"

"Huh?"

"Your mates? We're telling them we're together. We are together, right?"

Buffy had a look of incredulity on her face. "I can't believe—"

"That's not right, you know! Tell a guy all the things he has to do to make this work, but the one thing I really want, you won't do. If mmmpphf."

Buffy used the only tactic that could stop Spike from talking when he got going. She kissed him. It was hard and short, but it got the job done. "I know it's not right," she said. "That's why we're telling them. We could tell them now if you want, but I haven't kissed you for several hours now and I'm going through some withdrawals."

Spike looked pleased. "Withdrawals, luv? You've gone longer without kissing me before." He pointed out.

"Oh I had them before, but now I have no reason to not give in. But really, less with the talking, more with the kissing."

Spike obliged and leaned down to capture her lips with his. Her body sagged in relief; maybe she was addicted to his kisses. He touched her lips with his tongue as he pulled her in closer. She clutched at his arms as the kiss grew deeper. She rubbed her thumbs across his nipples through his shirt. He moaned into the kiss and shuddered. She felt victorious until he did the same to her and she shuddered.

As if reading from the same script, they both slowed. The kiss took on a leisurely pace as they explored each other fully. Buffy decided she was an addict. She twisted her tongue with his again and again. She could kiss him forever. He always tasted smoky and sweet. Today the sweet was stronger. He tasted like…

Buffy gasped for air as she pulled back. "Hmm," She murmured. "Somebody stole my chocolate." She plunged her tongue back to lick in his mouth. "Yummy." She pulled back, suddenly all business. "You didn't eat all of it did you? Where's the rest?"

"What! I'm not more important than chocolate?"

"Nothing is, stupid boy." She twisted in his arms to search for her secret hiding place.

Spike spun her back around and found her lips again. All thoughts of chocolate and anything else for that matter disappeared from her mind.

A squeal from Dawn and a groan from Xander finally pulled her attention away. They both turned to the door and saw the Scoobies standing there, varying degrees of surprise on their faces.

Xander moaned, "Oh God, take my eyes now. I don't need them anymore. They've been burned through."

Spike looked ready to make a scathing remark and Buffy looked sharply at him. She laced her fingers through his and turned to her friends. "Spike and I are together now." She declared and stopped there. She didn't know what else to say.

Tara merely smiled. Willow looked torn, wanting to ask questions but also wanting to be a supportive friend. She finally just nodded and said, "Okay." Xander still looked upset, muttering to himself. He had opened his mouth to speak again when Anya slapped her hand on it. "That does good things for my seating charts," she said and dragged Xander away. "We have to go home. This thing took away some valuable orgasm time."

Dawn ran up to her sister, giddy as she hugged her. "This is so great! You guys are so meant to be! I knew that even before the spell!" Spike smiled in amusement and didn't pull away as she hugged him too.

Tara came to give Buffy a hug too. She whispered, "I'm glad you figured out what you wanted. You won't believe our clear your aura looks."

Anya stuck her head back in the room, "Are you guys leaving? I want to lock up."

They all packed their things and headed out. Buffy noticed Xander in his car, banging his head on the steering wheel. She shook her head and hoped he'd come around soon.

Spike took one of her hands. "Let me walk my two favorite girls home," He said and pulled her closer. They began to walk in the direction of her house. Dawn's joy was palpable as she practically skipped next to them.

Though Spike's arm was slung low on her waist, he talked to Dawn the entire walk home. Something about friends and boys, Buffy wasn't really paying attention. She was too busy feeling…happy. It had been so long, she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be happy. She grinned stupidly and unconsciously squeezed Spike's waist. He turned to her and smiled, leaned down to give a small peck on the lips, and went back to his conversation with Dawn.

Buffy's grin remained on her face. It was a relief to be able to give in like that. It was a relief that she could touch him without looking around for her friends first. They could just _be_ wherever and whenever they wanted.

She was ready to fall in love with this man (if she wasn't already). And for once, she wasn't afraid.

The End


End file.
